Retiro Mitre railway station

Retiro (Mitre)
Inter-city & Commuter rails
Station facade.
Location	Av. Ramos Mejía 1358, Buenos Aires Argentina
Coordinates	34°35′29″S 58°22′29″W / 34.59139°S 58.37472°W / -34.59139; -58.37472Coordinates: 34°35′29″S 58°22′29″W / 34.59139°S 58.37472°W / -34.59139; -58.37472
Owned by	Government of Argentina
Operated by	Trenes Argentinos
Line(s)	Mitre
Platforms	8
Connections	Subte (under construction: ) Retiro Belgrano Retiro San Martín Bus terminus
Other information
Fare zone	Retiro, Buenos Aires
History
Opened	August 1, 1915 (1915-08-01)

Retiro Station (Mitre Railway) (Estación Retiro (Ferrocarril Mitre) in Spanish) is a large railway terminus located in the district of Retiro of the city of Buenos Aires. The station is located just opposite Plaza San Martín, a large public square; and is part of the Retiro station complex.

Overview

One of Argentina's largest railway stations, Retiro Mitre is the terminus for the Mitre Railway, being located next to the Retiro Belgrano railway station.

Retiro Mitre is accessible by the C line of the Buenos Aires Metro system and by numerous local public bus services. The station will also be accessible by both Line E and Line H of the metro once their extensions are complete. The station is also near from Retiro bus station (Terminal de Omnibus), the principal long-distance bus terminal in Buenos Aires.

History

Station great hall with entrance to Line C in the background.

Commuter train with Retiro's glass and iron train shed in the background.

The French-style station building was designed by the British architects Eustace L. Conder, Roger Conder and Sydney G. Follet together with the engineer Reginald Reynolds. Building began in June 1909 and the station was opened on 1 August 1915 while being operated by the Central Argentine Railway. The steel structure for the building was made in Liverpool, England, and re-assembled in Argentina. For many years it was considered to be the most important example of structural engineering in South America and architecturally one of the finest buildings in the world.

After the railway Nationalisation in Argentina, the station became part of the Bartolomé Mitre Railway, a division of state-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos, which operated commuter rail and long-distance services to Tucumán (being the Estrella del Norte the most notable of them)^[1] When the entire rail network was privatised in the early 1990s, Retiro Mitre was taken over by Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) for commuter services and Tucumán Ferrocarriles for long-distance journeys to the province, also crossing Rosario and Santiago del Estero.^[2] Other private companies operating the station were Corredores Ferroviarios^[3][4] and Ferrocentral.^[5]

In 1997 the Retiro Mitre station was declared a National Monument.^[6]

In 2015 plans were announced to expand the station with new platforms to accommodate long distance services operated by Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado. The new part of the station would have new road access from Libertador Avenue, replacing land currently used for storage of rolling stock. The existing buildings are also currently being renovated, including restoration of the train shed.^[7]

Services

State-owned Trenes Argentinos operates the commuter rail services calling at José León Suárez (General San Martín Partido), Tigre, and Bartolomé Mitre along its three branches. Long-distance services to Rosario and Tucumán cities are also operated by the same company.

Historical photos

• 
  Original project
• 
  First building
• 
  Former station and bridge.
• 
  Sweet shop
• 
  Tea gallery
• 
  Ticket offices
• 
  Restaurant

See also

References

External links

Media related to Retiro Mitre station at Wikimedia Commons